Tuesday Trail Run

My job is very creative and I love it. So on the days when I can’t be creative, and I have to do the mundane tasks that are bound to happen (especially this time of year), I get kind of blah.

And the one thing that makes me un-blah? Running.

Just prior to the La Jolla Half Marathon, my IT band wanted me to know it has hated me for awhile now, and it decided to act up. Just in time for my race.

So, when I literally hobbled across the finish line on race day, I decided that during the following weeks I would try to focus on foam rolling, stretching, and would lay off the running for a bit.

Yesterday, I was bored with my neighborhood running route and had run a couple miles on Saturday, so I chose to do something a little different and completed the following circuit workout in my backyard:

My calves and quads are wicked* sore today but after work, I laced up my sneakers and took Maeby for a 5-mile run.

The good news? My knee didn’t bother me. At all.

We ran the mile-and-a-half to the canyon near my house, took off on the trail for a mile out and back, and then ran back home.

Maeby and I enjoyed our run, and after the tedious day at work and having to cut back on my runs, it felt so, so good to get back out there.

Notice Maeby’s pink bandana? I always make sure to put it on her before we go running so if we see people, she’ll seem more approachable. This is especially true when we go running at Mission Bay Park.

But today, it became especially symbolic, because when I got home from our run and opened my email, I saw I had a message from Fit Approach, telling me that I am now a Sweat Pink Ambassador.

Which is pretty damn exciting and couldn’t have come at a better time.

Fit Approach defines its mission as this: “We’re your healthy community! We’re a supportive group of people, including everyone from ultra marathoners to couch potatoes, sharing our experiences with health and fitness, and we’d love for you to join the conversation.”

And Sweat Pink’s mission is this: “We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes. We’ve learned that real women sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities. We concede that sometimes it takes hours to get ready, but we’re also no strangers to just rolling out of bed and going. We’re convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces. We believe in pushing ourselves, and we believe in giving ourselves a break, too. We’re all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge. We’re all for looking great and feeling even better. We’re committed to finding our best fit, and making it stick.”

As someone who grew up dancing, playing soccer, playing field hockey in high school in college, and trying everything from CrossFit to Bikram Yoga to Les Mills classes and long distance running, I am pretty sure this online community was made for me. I thrive in a team environment, and I believe that I can push myself a little harder everyday. And I also believe that sports and fitness (whether it’s running, field hockey, or pilates) are fantastic for teaching life lessons and helping one learn to cope with the bigger things in life.

I’m really excited to be a part of this community and to continue sharing details of my life in San Diego.

And speaking of details of my life, I am going back to the east coast to see my family in two weeks! Not at all relevant to this entire post but I’m so excited about it.

*I’m trying to bring wicked to the west coast. Don’t think it’s working yet.